


Finding a Way

by lunaseemoony



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Pregnancy, Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7689304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaseemoony/pseuds/lunaseemoony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A distraught and terrified Rose is faced with both having to explain how she got pregnant to her mum, and breaking the news to the Doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding a Way

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting older fics from tumblr to complete collections. 
> 
> Prompted by anonymous. Thank you!

“How did this happen?” 

Rose wrung her face in her clammy hands and slumped over at her mum’s table. They were just popping in for a quick visit, mostly dinner. But Rose’s body wasn’t having it. Her mum knew. She always knew. Maybe someday Rose would work out how. Suffice to say she scarcely needed the test for confirmation. The infamous strip of white plastic and its offending pink cap sat between them, its thin lines daring her to take another look. Maybe the dozenth time would make the second one disappear. She peered through her finger slats and grumbled defeat, letting her head falling to her arms. She breathed a hot sigh onto the table, and it shook.

“Mum… no.” she mumbled into her arms. She couldn’t - wouldn’t - talk about it with him supposed to be returning from the store any minute. “I’m not doin’ that with you.”

“Well I gather it wasn’t on purpose. Did you at least _try_  protection?”

Her head shot up. No, no, bloody hell _no_. “Mum!”

Her mum backed off a bit, slumping in her chair with her tea. Rose picked up the pregnancy test and stared it down. There, at least she’d said the word. Pregnancy. Her current state of health. She dug her toes into the soles of her shoes to ground herself, but it didn’t help. Those two pink lines were dizzying. They taunted her for her misfortune, as if the stupid piece of cheap plastic _knew_ its was the third one, same result. 

She chucked it across the little kitchen and it landed in the sink with a clang. 

“I don’t want this.”

Her mum reached for her hand across the table, snatching it before it could escape her clutches. “Oh sweetheart. I didn’t either. You were a determined little thing, tell you what.” 

Her lip quivered and her eyes began to itch, readying themselves for the oncoming storm. “No, mum. I mean, this wasn’t a part of the plan.”

“D’you honestly think you were? With your dad’s -” 

Out came the tears. “You’re not gettin’ it! This isn’t what I want. I can’t travel with the doctor and a…” the word got stuck in her gullet, “a _baby_! Fat chance of that happenin’!” 

All points were lost then. Her mum swept her up from the chair and brought her into the safety of her arms where she unleashed it all. Fears, anxiety, the unknown, grief, and anger all dampened her shirt. Rose’s universe, the TARDIS, all of the running hand in hand came crashing at once. Her anchored her so heavily she could barely breathe. 

If that wasn’t enough, guilt began creeping in like spiders beneath the door. Beneath her clothes, hidden safely in her abdomen was a tiny life clinging to Rose. And at that moment she resented its existence. Maybe the Doctor would be okay with it at best, but what would the man who cherished life above all else think of her attitude in this? She couldn’t help feeling hopeless and a little resentful. The shock of it all hit her like a freight train going full speed. 

“It’ll be all right, sweetheart. Always is, promise,” her mum soothed. She pressed her chin to her head and hugged her tighter, pressing Rose’s arguments into her shoulder. “You and I were all right, eh?” 

She sniffed and gasped something of an affirmation. She _needed_  that thin slice of solace in that moment. She clung to it. Rose grappled desperately for what she knew she had right then and there. She had her mum and Mickey, always. She had her life, which after traveling with the Doctor meant more to her than could’ve ever appreciated before. She had her wits and her mum’s bullheadedness. She had a knack for pulling through no matter what. 

She had the Doctor, standing in the door to her kitchen with his hearts in his hands along with the groceries. He just barely managed to not drop them as he opened his arms to her, no questions asked. Rose shamelessly dove into them, nestling her face in his arms and coat layers. The comforts of old books, sandalwood, and chips (oh thank  _god_  he brought chips) were overwhelming. She didn’t know if he was aware, and honestly she didn’t _want_  to know. She clawed his coat and held him tight so the moment wouldn’t slip between her fingers like sand in the wind.  

But he was gentler than he’d ever been, at least since that night. His hug was an embrace, soothing words whispered into her ear between nuzzles. He must have hummed her name at least a dozen times but she didn’t hear it over her sobs muffled into his now damp shirt. At some point her mum left the room, and the Doctor leaned her up against the door frame, willing her gasps and tears away with hushes breathed into her hair. Rose felt ill for different reasons now, and her chest was throbbing viciously to keep up. But his hearts on her ear were inordinately calm, calmer than she could ever remember. 

The Doctor took several minutes to nurture a steady peace growing between them. He wouldn’t speak to her properly when she was an angry, sobbing mess. They shared warmth and slow breaths. When Rose felt more like a human being she lifted her face to soak in some comfort from his. His expression was schooled and stony, hiding beneath thousand-year-old eyes what he was truly feeling. But he cupped her face anyway and gave her a chaste kiss. 

And a child. 

Rose’s head quickly ducked back to the safety of his jacket. At some point, between that moment and just under eight months from then she’d have to come to terms with the idea. For a few short minutes she’d wondered if it would’ve been better if she was the victim of some sort of space shenanigans. The truth was the timing was perfect. The situation was far from it, but the timing at least was utterly perfect. The Doctor was the father of her child. 

“Rose, look at me.”

She obliged, swallowing a hiccup. “You knew, didn’t you? How did you know?”

The Doctor rubbed her back as he straightened up and shoved his hand in his hair. His adam’s apple bobbed in his throat and he stuttered a couple times before answering. “Well, I, ah…” he smiled cheekily. “Long story short I can taste a body’s chemical changes.” 

“And you didn’t tell me?”

Rose made to back away in betrayal, but he pulled her in by her hips. She followed his eyes traveling south. Could he see his child nestled safely between them too? She wouldn’t put it past him. 

“Figured only one of us should be a basket case about it at a time, don’t you think?”

He wasn’t at all deterred by her talon grip on his arms. “ _You_? You’re not carrying it!”

Her words tasted venomous coming out but if they wounded him it didn’t show. In fact, he pecked her forehead and smiled a bit at her fury. 

“Didn’t want you to think I was a rubbish father. I just needed time to gather my wits for you.” 

It must have been tough for him to say, because he rushed it between breaths.

“You want this.”

The memory of his face right then would be engraved on her memory forever. His eyes glistened with tears and his lips curled beautifully into a genuine smile of joy. “A child with you, Rose Tyler?” He croaked. “I’d  _love_  it.” Her mouth opened to protest. “Shh shh shh. Save that for later. Just let us have this for a moment Rose.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Whatever else happens, however you want to do this, just let yourself enjoy that we made a life together.”

They’d had precious few hours left to live, staring death in the face for the umpteenth time. Their jail cell was pitch black, windowless, and only feet away from a vicious battle going on outside. It was wet, moldy, and the coldest she’d ever been in. Tired of watching her shiver, he pulled her in close. Memories of sharing a bed on Krop Tor played through both their minds. The desire to continue where they’d left off was worn on both their faces, even if they could scarcely see. 

A tentative kiss became an embrace. Keeping her warm gave way to pleasure and comforts. They basked in mutual need, of sharing different sorts of needing. Fear of the unknown had their hearts pounding so hard that for a few short minutes they forgot they’d always found their way. He couldn’t bear that lives were being claimed so close and he could do nothing about it. That night was dark, ugly and cruel. But from it came life, despite their best attempts at keeping it at bay. Like the first ray of sunshine after a tempest, life found a way of peaking through the darkest of moments that night. 

The memory of it, and realizing this, gave Rose all the hope she needed.


End file.
